Why dont monitors lay flat on the desk?

[me]

In the days before computers we had papers spread out
over a desktop laying flat in the desk surface where
you looked down at them.

How come no LCD monitors are made to lay flat on desk?

It would sure be a lot easier on my bifocal eyes if the
monitor was flat and I was looking thru my near vision
part of glasses at it.... rather than craning my neck
looking at one upright

 

[johns]

Carpenter here designed a desk that takes the monitor
and sinks it into the desk, and then tilts it back about
30 degrees. I've noticed that it is much easier to view
and work with. Also, the cables are completely hidden
and sit nicely in a cable tray under the desk.

johns

 

[Senex]

(e-mail address removed) rattled this off his keyboard on 7/24/2006 :

In the days before computers we had papers spread out
over a desktop laying flat in the desk surface where
you looked down at them.

How come no LCD monitors are made to lay flat on desk?

It would sure be a lot easier on my bifocal eyes if the
monitor was flat and I was looking thru my near vision
part of glasses at it.... rather than craning my neck
looking at one upright

When buying new glasses, most optical companies offer 2 for 1 specials.
I have my second pair near vision only. not bi-focal. Problem
solved. :')

 

[Bob Horvath]

On Mon, 24 Jul 2006 09:20:58 -0500, Bob Horvath wrote:

Why not get a pair of single lens glasses that will let you focus
on the monitor. It works great. I have been doing that for a long
time. Once in a while I have to switch to read something, but that is
a small annoyance compared to the crammed neck. Also, if I go to
someone else's place to work on the system, I take them along.
As far as the desk thing, they do have desk's that you can set the
monitor down in it at a certain angle, similar to the one's newscaster
use. They are great for what you are talking about..
Bob

 

[Mike T.]

Carpenter here designed a desk that takes the monitor
and sinks it into the desk, and then tilts it back about
30 degrees. I've noticed that it is much easier to view
and work with. Also, the cables are completely hidden
and sit nicely in a cable tray under the desk.

johns

Ergonomically, the top of the viewable area of the monitor should be no
higher than your eyes. Unless you've got a desk with a recessed monitor
enclosure, this means that it's tough to adjust any monitor so that you can
view it comfortably for more than a few minutes at a time.

It also means that "height adjustability" in a monitor is a useless gimmick.
You need to move the monitor down, not up, so increasing the monitor height
at all is less than useful. -Dave

 

[me]

Carpenter here designed a desk that takes the monitor
and sinks it into the desk, and then tilts it back about
30 degrees. I've noticed that it is much easier to view
and work with. Also, the cables are completely hidden
and sit nicely in a cable tray under the desk.

johns

Cool!

Is this an LCD monitor he uses?

Or CRT?

 

[me]

Ergonomically, the top of the viewable area of the monitor should be no
higher than your eyes. Unless you've got a desk with a recessed monitor
enclosure, this means that it's tough to adjust any monitor so that you can
view it comfortably for more than a few minutes at a time.

It also means that "height adjustability" in a monitor is a useless gimmick.
You need to move the monitor down, not up, so increasing the monitor height
at all is less than useful. -Dave

Interesting thanks!

This seems to confirm what I've learned by trial and
error as well

I've ALWAYS thought monitors were too high!!

 

[me]

Why not get a pair of single lens glasses that will let you focus
on the monitor. It works great.

yeah I've been thinking on that as well

My bifocals just aren't "getting it" for computer use
anymore

I have 48 yr old eyes.... getting worse by the year

Been thinking abt LASIK.... but scared I guess

 

[me]

Why not get a pair of single lens glasses that will let you focus
on the monitor. It works great. I have been doing that for a long
time. Once in a while I have to switch to read something, but that is
a small annoyance compared to the crammed neck. Also, if I go to
someone else's place to work on the system, I take them along.

How bad are your eyes?

Just curious

 

[hdrdtd]

54 years old here.

Last time I got new glasses, I specifically mentioned to the evey doctor
that I spend most of my time in front of a PC (I'm a network Administrator
at work), thinking that perhaps I could get a second set of glasses designed
to focus on a monitor's typical distance.

He simply told me to wait till I had a chance to try the new glasses before
deciding that.

My glasses are of the type that continousily transisitions (no dividing
lines) between 4 (i think) focal lengths.

The doctor was right. No need for a second pair just for Monitor use.


Also, todays flat panel screens are usually made to a Vesa mounting
standard. That means that if you take a look at the back of the screen,
you'll probably find that your monitor stand clips into the back of the
monitor.

The Vesa mounting standard defines the dimensions of that mounting bracket.
Because of this, many companies make various mounting brackets that can be
used to mount your display on a wide varity of brackets, such as pivoting
bracket that would mount on the wall.

Since modern flat panels are designed this way, and because they are much
lighter and thinner than CRT's (along with producing less heat), you should
be able to design a recess into your desktop for your display quite easily.

 

[Mike T.]

Ergonomically, the top of the viewable area of the monitor should be no

Interesting thanks!

This seems to confirm what I've learned by trial and
error as well

I've ALWAYS thought monitors were too high!!

Well, you've always been right, and now you know why. Interesting side
note...next time you go to an office supply superstore, check out the
furniture section, and see how many computer desks you can find with RAISED
monitor platforms. Ergonomically, these desks are upside down. You need to
lower the monitor, so a raised platform for a monitor is a really REALLY bad
idea. But you will find at least 5-10% of computer desks sold have the
raised monitor shelf. -Dave

 

[JAD]

Well, you've always been right, and now you know why. Interesting side
note...next time you go to an office supply superstore, check out the
furniture section, and see how many computer desks you can find with RAISED
monitor platforms. Ergonomically, these desks are upside down. You need to
lower the monitor, so a raised platform for a monitor is a really REALLY bad
idea. But you will find at least 5-10% of computer desks sold have the
raised monitor shelf. -Dave

not if you're 6'8". your eyes should be centered on the middle of the
monitor with your head in a neutral position. For me in a wheelchair (which
sits higher than most chairs) my 21" monitor has to be raised 3 1/2 inches.
different strokes...........

 

[Jan Alter]

In the days before computers we had papers spread out
over a desktop laying flat in the desk surface where
you looked down at them.

How come no LCD monitors are made to lay flat on desk?

It would sure be a lot easier on my bifocal eyes if the
monitor was flat and I was looking thru my near vision
part of glasses at it.... rather than craning my neck
looking at one upright

Try adjusting the nose bridges on your glasses and you may find it easier
all around.

 

[Roger]

54 years old here.

Last time I got new glasses, I specifically mentioned to the evey doctor
that I spend most of my time in front of a PC (I'm a network Administrator
at work), thinking that perhaps I could get a second set of glasses designed
to focus on a monitor's typical distance.

He simply told me to wait till I had a chance to try the new glasses before
deciding that.

My glasses are of the type that continousily transisitions (no dividing
lines) between 4 (i think) focal lengths.

The doctor was right. No need for a second pair just for Monitor use.

62 here. I have been wearing the continuous focus glasses for probably
30 years. About 4 years ago I started having neck pain after using the
PC for long periods of time. My eye doctor recommended a pair of
continuous focus lenses with a short focal point for reading and PC
work. These focus from about 1 to 8 feet - solved the neck pain problem
for me.

But the originator of the thread had a good point. I think a monitor
that sits low on the desk at a 45 degree angle (adjustable) would be
more comfortable. But I wonder if that would lead to slouching and poor
ergonomics -- is there an advantage to vertical screens in that they
encourage you to sit up straighter?

Roger

 

[johns]

Is this an LCD monitor he uses?

Or CRT?

It's a crt .. and that is a little bit of a problem
regards supporting the new LCDs coming in.
Macht nichts .. he can just keep on sawing on
it and find a way to support the LCD. When
he gets it right, I want one.

johns

 

[Mike T.]

not if you're 6'8". your eyes should be centered on the middle of the
monitor with your head in a neutral position. For me in a wheelchair
(which
sits higher than most chairs) my 21" monitor has to be raised 3 1/2
inches.
different strokes...........

uhhhhh, no

Your eyes should be no lower than the very top of the VIEWABLE area of the
monitor. The reason is that the human eye will focus easier on things when
you are looking DOWN at them.

If your personal preference is strong enough, you might convince yourself
that your eyes are not human. However, it would be a good idea for you to
lower your monitor so that the top of it is no higher than eye level and try
using it that way for a while. -Dave

 

[me]

If your personal preference is strong enough, you might convince yourself
that your eyes are not human. However, it would be a good idea for you to
lower your monitor so that the top of it is no higher than eye level and try
using it that way for a while. -Dave

Would you venture to say that even a little lower is
better yet?

 

[Mxsmanic]

How come no LCD monitors are made to lay flat on desk?

Some are. Wacom has a product called Cintiq that combines a monitor
with a graphics tablet. You can draw on it as you would on a desk. I
don't know if it can be made to lie completely flat. One of their
previous models could.

It would sure be a lot easier on my bifocal eyes if the
monitor was flat and I was looking thru my near vision
part of glasses at it.... rather than craning my neck
looking at one upright

Ergonomically it's preferable for it to be upright if you'll be
looking at it for long periods. You might consider a larger monitor
set at the same resolution but at a greater distance, so that you
don't have to use near vision to see it (depending on the prescription
your bifocals have).

There's no reason why a flat-panel couldn't be used in a face-up
position, but most are not designed that way. You might be able to
customize something (voiding the warranty, of course). That's a lot
of trouble to go to.

 

[Mxsmanic]

Interesting thanks!

This seems to confirm what I've learned by trial and
error as well

I've ALWAYS thought monitors were too high!!

The upper edge of the display should be just at or above your eye
level when you are seated normally in front of the computer. Most
monitors are actually too low by default, although some come with a
stand that can be adjusted through a wide range. Avoid monitors that
are right on the desk such that you have to tilt your head down to
look at them; over time this causes a lot of fatigue.

 

[Mxsmanic]

Well, you've always been right, and now you know why. Interesting side
note...next time you go to an office supply superstore, check out the
furniture section, and see how many computer desks you can find with RAISED
monitor platforms. Ergonomically, these desks are upside down. You need to
lower the monitor, so a raised platform for a monitor is a really REALLY bad
idea. But you will find at least 5-10% of computer desks sold have the
raised monitor shelf.

A raised platform is the way it should be, as the monitor should be
just below eye level. Most monitors are too low unless they are
placed on some sort of platform.